You Think You're the Only Superhero?
by Edwardo's-heir
Summary: Tony discovers what it means to be part of a bigger universe and drags Pepper along with him. An eventual Ironman/Xmen crossover. And eventually Pepperony.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything..Marvel does!

This will be an Iron man focused fanfic with a Xmen crossover. Just a little idea I had floating around in my head. Let me know what ya think :)

CHAPTER ONE

Tony Stark's announcement of_ "I am Iron Man,"_ rang out from the television speakers and bounced around the cold metal walls that housed the pair who stood watching the screen. The older gentlemen chuckled and brought a pondering hand to his chin. "Ahhh humans," he sighed, "they really can be quite amusing."

"Yes, but he would be quite powerful with that suit. We should bring him to our side. Make him one of us," replied his female companion.

"Yes, but as you say he already is powerful. Why risk him when we could add two to our ranks. He will be on our side if we manipulate him through another."

"Ha! Tony Stark cares for no one but Tony Stark! Good luck finding that other person!" The woman snapped, arms crossed aggressively in front of her.

"Well now it sounds like you may know Tony Stark better than I thought. Let me guess, a one night stand? I must admit I am very disappointed you were attracted to the man at all."

She stood in brooding silence, refusing to acknowledge the man's suggestion, no matter how accurate it might have been.

"Anyway, that is beside the point, and I trust you will not let it influence you in this endeavor. But I do think you are very wrong on one point my dear. I believe Tony Stark cares very much for one person," the man slowed the recording of Tony's speech as he walked towards a very annoyed looking Pepper Potts, placed his arm securely around her waist and led her out of the room.

"Now go and get a DNA sample to see if she can survive it," he instructed. His eyes never left the face of Tony Stark's as his eyes fell on his lovely personal assistant.

The woman turned sharply and gracefully exited the cold, bare room on silent, predatory feet.

"If she is strong enough, I have the perfect power for her," he added to the now empty room, and a slow smile spread across his face.

It seemed every channel on television was replaying Tony Stark's announcement of being Iron Man 24/7. News anchors argued over it, put absurd spins on the story, and interviewed wackos that claimed they had been rescued by Iron Man and flown off on romantic getaways.

"Unbelievable," Pepper Potts muttered as she glanced up from her laptop to see a sixty year old woman claiming to have experienced one of those very romantic rescues. The woman's story was followed by another clip of Tony's speech. "For the love of . . . Jarvis! Please turn the television off!"

"Certainly Miss Potts," the AI replied while executing her request.

Pepper settled back into the couch in Tony's living room and continued to file through the never-ending emails that filled her inbox. She welcomed the silence of the mansion combined with the soothing trickle of the ever-running waterfall nearby. She was making steady progress when Black Sabbath's Iron Man blasted from the direction of Tony's workshop and broke through her concentration.

Pepper pushed her laptop off of her lap and set it on the coffee table. With a sigh she stretched her long legs, slipped her feet into her four inch black heels, and made her way to see her superhero boss.

She paused in surprise after passing through the new glass security doors when she did not find her employer under his hot rod or next to his shiny suit. The doors slid shut behind her, and she spotted him slouched on the couch watching something on his television which was also the source of the offensively loud music. Pepper watched as grainy images of Iron Man fighting Iron Monger flitted across the screen, edited with videos of Tony at one function or another all put to the tune of "Iron Man." The music faded and yet another replay of Tony's admittance was shown to end the video. Pepper shut her eyes and was contemplating using one of her heels to beat on Tony if she had to watch that clip one more time when the object of her annoyance noticed her presence.

"Oh Miss Potts! Wasn't that something?" He addressed her while motioning to the now blank screen. "Apparently I am quite popular on Youtube. Something like ten million hits on that one alone. I mean I can't really blame people for wanting to watch that fight over and over again even if it was only filmed with cellphone camera quality." He was wearing the grin of a young boy on Christmas morning who felt he deserved the mountain of presents beneath the tree, and he completed the boyishly charming look with black sweat pants, a rumpled T-shirt with a hole prominently displaying the arc reactor, and messy hair.

Pepper's eyes snapped open and bore into Tony's with a cold glare that made his grin falter. "Oh yes I would certainly _love_ to watch you almost get killed over and over again! It's really too bad the end of the fight wasn't caught on film because watching that with my own eyes and pushing the button myself to almost kill you is something I really don't think I could get enough of!" She spat out venomously.

With that Pepper turned on her heel and marched back towards the door and the stairs. "And please don't blast your damn theme song or any other music 'til I'm gone for the day!" She threw over her shoulder.

Tony stood rooted to the floor for all of five minutes before snapping out of his shock at Pepper's comments and jogging up the stairs with the intent of apologizing. He found Pepper sitting on the couch with her back to him. She was slumped over with her face cradled in her hands, and he swore he felt his arc reactor weaken with the guilt that was tugging at his heart. Tony sat down next to Pepper and rested a hand on her back. "Pepper, I'm sorry... I'm such an ass." He spoke quietly as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Oo er ar," came the muffled reply.

"Uhhh what was that?" He asked trying to hide a grin. Pepper raised her head from her hands to reveal her tear streaked face, and Tony easily swallowed that grin.

"I said, you sure are!" She said, swatting him on the arm for emphasis. "I mean, God Tony! It's only been a few days since your announcement and your fight with Stane and you're acting like its no big deal!" She furiously swiped at the tear tracks on her cheeks. "Don't get me wrong I am so proud of the man that you are being, and I fully support you helping people that you believe you put in harms way and all, but I can't help but feel like you aren't taking this seriously! I mean, do you even get how much danger you put yourself in with that little announcement?! Like you needed any more!! You were kidnapped _before_ Iron Man!!" Pepper was literally shaking with pent up emotion. "And now there's all these emails and phone calls, and the board is freaking out! And I just...I just couldn't handle it if anything happened to you Tony. Remember the whole 'I'm all you've got, and you're all I have' talk? I need...I don't know. I just need..."

"A break!" Tony interrupted. "You need a break. Breathe Pepper. Listen I'm really sorry. _Really_! Now just calm down..."

"Don't tell me to calm down Anthony Stark! And how could I possibly take a break?! There is way too much that needs to be done!"

"Not anymore there isn't! Come on I'm the boss, and I will order you to take a break if I have to Miss Potts. And quit interrupting my apology!" They both glared at each other determinedly, her with her arms crossed, and his grasping her shoulders forcing her to face him.

"Now," he continued, his eyes softening, "Again, I'm truly sorry Pepper. I'm an idiot for not stopping to think about how all of this would affect you and how it has affected you. I never want to cause you to worry and I especially don't like to see you cry. But I really have to do this for me. And I know I act flippant and you know I'm not one to hate hogging the spotlight, but I do understand how serious this whole situation is." His left hand began to trace unconscious circles on Pepper's shoulder and he felt some of her tension ebb. "I plan on being very careful, mostly because I care for your sanity Pepper, and I don't need you going out of your mind with worry, but I also am not on some kind of suicide mission here, contrary to some reporter's beliefs," he gave a slight nod to the television screen where that infuriating blonde reporter now stood..._What was her name again? Katie? Clementine? Christie? ...oh, Christine...._Tony shifted his full attention back to Pepper.

"This is not about thrills or self destruction, this is about being the man I should be and righting the wrongs that I have a chance to right in my life." Tony took Pepper's hands in one of his and used the other to wipe the tears from her face. "Trust me Pepper. I found out I had a lot to live for when I was in that cave, and I'm not going to throw that away."

Pepper wasn't sure, but she thought Tony was trying to say that she was what he lived for. She mentally shook her head at the notion and pulled her hands from his. She felt emotionally drained, but admittedly a little less weighted down after their talk. "I do trust you Tony. I'm sorry for exploding like that. I guess I'm just a little stressed out." She said quietly.

Suddenly Tony was leaning very close to her and Pepper's breath caught in her throat. She felt her heart rate accelerate and she glanced at the lips that were now inches from her own. Then Tony abruptly pulled back after successfully reaching her laptop that lay behind her and snapping it shut. He smirked at Pepper as she tried to hide the blush that was creeping down her neck.

"Now are you going to give it to me or am I going to have to take it?" Tony asked, his eyes were dancing and his smirk turned predatory.

"Wh..wh..what?" Pepper stuttered, scrambling to figure out what he was asking exactly. He inched closer to her and brought his hand to her hip. He slowly lowered it and reached into her pocket, his eyes never leaving hers. She realized what he was doing just as he grabbed her blackberry from her pocket and stood up, holding it triumphantly in the air.

"No! I need that!" She said lunging after it.

"Ah ah ah! Tsk tsk Miss Potts. I do believe your employer told you to take a break. Now you can have your little toy back after you have been a good girl and finished your nap."

Pepper really wanted to wipe the cocky grin off of his face, but she was still feeling drained and her body was screaming for her to rest since the four hour average nights of sleep were not cutting it anymore. "Fine, but only because I am really tired. Don't think I'll let you order me around so complacently in the future Mr. Stark." She slipped out of her shoes and laid back on the couch. Tony disappeared only to reappear a second later with a blanket that he draped over her. Pepper's eyes drifted shut and a smile spread across her face when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Tony leaned down and whispered in his best sultry voice, "You know Miss Potts, you are really quite good at the whole 'emotional worry over the superhero' thing. I think we should just go ahead and give you the title of the superhero's girlfriend since you fit the role so nicely."

Pepper sat up quickly, and threw one of her heels at the now retreating form of Tony Stark. She missed, and she heard him laugh before humming Black Sabbath down the stairs to his workshop. Pepper couldn't help but grin as she laid her head back down and finally drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter, but we'll give it a go anyways.

Chapter Two

Logan jumped over a nearby dumpster and hid crouching against an alley wall as six blades of deadly metal slid out from his knuckles. He was breathing hard, and he strained to hear how close his target was amidst the screams of downtown New Yorkers who scattered past. Unfortunately, his sense of smell didn't come in handy for this one. Suddenly, a corner of the top floor of the building he was leaning against was hit by an explosion, and debris rained down all around him. Logan shielded the top of his head with one arm, barely flinching as tiny shards of glass and stone hit him. His superficial wounds healed almost instantly. "I guess he's close," he muttered.

The ground began to tremble, and Logan climbed atop the dumpster he had previously leaped over, crouching in a fighting stance. A few moments later, a sentinel stomped by. His right leg was just within reach, and Logan jumped towards it, sinking one of his bladed hands into the metal monster. He started to climb up the leg to try to gain access to the vital computer center of the mutant killing machine. The sentinel spun around and tried to shake its leg; its massive arms simultaneously trying to swipe him off and crush him. He clung on, focusing on climbing up one hand at a time while dodging each attack. His focus was momentarily broken when he heard Professor Xavier's voice in his head, "_Logan, we need to talk. Meet me outside of Cerebro and bring Storm with you_."

The sentinel successfully threw Logan off skidding across the ground where he calmly picked himself up and turned his back on it. A red laser landed on the back of his head painting the perfect target, but Logan calmly strode away from the machine. Just as the sentinel let off a spray of bullets, the sentinel and scene of downtown New York vanished, and Logan walked to a metal door that slid open and allowed him to exit the danger room and enter the quiet halls of the mansions underground sector. "Next time tin man. Next time you're going back to Oz," he threw over his shoulder as the doors slid shut.

"Oh, I'm sure he's scared," Storm said smiling as she approached Logan. He grunted in response. "So the professor told me to come find you," Storm said.

"Yeah. He wants us to meet him outside of Cerebro."

The two headed that way in companionable silence, the only noise coming from the clicking of Storm's heeled boots on the tile floor. When they reached the door to Cerebro, it was closed so they took up position on opposite walls facing each other, Logan crossing his arms and legs at the ankles, and Storm placing one heeled foot against the wall. The silence continued, both wondering what the professor wanted to talk to them about. He hadn't talked much at all since his return.

A few minutes later, the doors to Cerebro hissed open and Professor Charles Xavier walked out. It still shocked both mutants to see the professor in his new body sans wheels. He seemed to acknowledge this discomfort with a quick glance to each of them. They were all carrying a lot of baggage from their last fight with Magneto, and Charles didn't know how to tell them they might have to fight yet another war.

Logan was the first to speak, "So you wanted to see us about something professor?"

"Yes, Logan. I have been tracking Mystique through Cerebro and . . ."

"Wait!" Storm interrupted, "Why are you tracking Mystique? She's powerless now. You don't think Magneto would be anywhere near her… do you? Not to mention he's no longer a mutant so what kind of threat would they be together?"

"Well, apparently, _she_ is not powerless because I was tracking her as a mutant."

"What?!!" both Logan and Storm pushed themselves off their respective walls and stood in very stiff defensive postures.

The professor sighed and lifted his hands to massage his aching temple. "Yes, well…she has been very difficult to keep track of, and I can only assume that she has been changing shape quite frequently." He paused lowering his hands and emitting another deep sigh. "I also believe she is back with Magneto, although he is blocking me again so I can't be certain of his whereabouts, only hers."

"Well this is just GREAT!" Logan yelled throwing up his arms. "Will it ever end? You know if that psychopath somehow managed to reverse 'the cure,' he is plotting another war! It's all he lives for!"

Storm went to stand next to Logan and put a calming hand on his arm. Turning back to face the professor she asked, "Do you know what they're up to?"

"I can't be sure. But I have a pretty good idea."

"Well where are they? We need to take them out _now_ before they do any more damage to our lives." Logan's voice came out eerily low just like the threatening growl of his namesake, the wolverine.

"They are in Los Angeles, and I want you and Storm to go there and keep an eye on them, but do not confront them." The professor ended this statement with a pointed look in Logan's direction. "Leave as soon as possible."

Storm turned and began to walk down the long hall to prepare the jet for their mission.

Logan stood firmly rooted in place, arms crossed over his broad chest. "I'm not leaving until you tell us what you _think_ those two are up to."

The professor turned his back on Logan and began to walk back into Cerebro. As the doors were sliding shut he spoke, "I think they are going after Tony Stark."

Might be a few days til the next update but stay with me :)


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything :( (That goes for the last chapter too)

A couple of things: First, thanks for all of the reviews! I love you guys for them and you inspired me to write another chapter instead of working on a term paper! LoL This was way more fun, but having said that, grad school is getting a little busy so updates will probably slow down. I will try my hardest! And I have the plot all in my head, but I'm trying to figure out how I can fit Gambit in the story because he was always my favorite X-men…so if you have any ideas as the story continues, let me know :) Enjoy the chapter!!

Chapter 3

Pepper woke up slowly, feeling extremely disoriented. When her senses finally became attuned she took in the feel of a heavy down comforter and amazingly soft sheets. This was certainly not the couch she had fallen asleep on and this was certainly not her bed. "Jarvis?" she called tentatively, hoping she was at least still in the same universe she went to sleep in.

"Good morning Ms. Potts," The AI promptly answered.

"Wait…morning?!" Pepper sat up like a rocket throwing the covers off of her body, but she still felt mildly disoriented so she remained sitting on the bed. "How long have I been sleeping, and could you un-tint the windows so I know what room I'm in please."

"You slept for 13 hours and 21 minutes," Jarvis replied while carrying out her request. The bright Malibu sunlight flooded the room making Pepper squint as she noted she was not in Tony's bedroom as she had feared, but in the guest room where she stored a few of her own necessities in case of emergencies.

Pepper glanced at the bedside clock noticing that it was indeed morning; 5:58 a.m. to be exact. "And I suppose Mr. Stark carried me to this room and told you not to wake me?" she asked, taking note that she was still in yesterday's clothes, thankfully.

"Yes. And he told me to tell you he was a complete gentleman throughout the entire process if you asked that very question."

Pepper silently shook her head in amusement at the preprogrammed answer. She rose from the bed and stretched her arms up over her head causing a few stiff muscles to pop. After a few seconds, she lowered her arms and made her way into the guestroom's attached bath. Pepper took a quick, but much needed shower and changed into her signature black pencil skirt plus blouse ensemble. Leaving her heels off for the time being, she headed down to the kitchen and started brewing a pot of coffee. "Jarvis, is Mr. Stark awake?" she asked while pouring herself a bowl of Special K.

"Mr. Stark is just getting up," Jarvis answered.

Pepper popped a bagel in the toaster for Tony and got two mugs down from one of the cabinets adding cream to one and sugar to the other. Tony shuffled from the direction of his bedroom yawning and scratching the back of his head. He was wearing pajama pants, but had not bothered to put a shirt on yet. Pepper pushed the now steaming coffee mug with the sugar towards Tony and carried her own cup to the kitchen table.

"So did you sleep well?" Tony asked, joining her at the table.

"Yes, I did. I guess I was a little more tired than I thought." She admitted.

Tony nodded and the two settled into a comfortable silence, Tony concentrating on his food and Pepper scrolling through her blackberry in between bites of cereal. When Tony was finished he took both of their dishes to the sink and asked, "So, what does my schedule look like today?"

Pepper hit a few buttons on her blackberry before reading off his schedule which was pretty free except for the emergency board meeting at 2:00 that afternoon.

"Well, I guess I will definitely be attending that one," Tony spoke a little sourly imagining all of the Iron Man questions he was going to have to deal with.

"Yeah well you brought all of this on yourself so no help from me," Pepper flashed him a rare, mischievous grin.

"What? You aren't coming with me?" Tony looked genuinely worried.

"Oh you'll be fine! You're a superhero now. You can handle anything!" her grin grew even broader before she grew serious again. "And besides I have to run a few errands. Do you need anything while I'm out?"

"Um…," Tony thought for a second, "Nope, I'm good, but I could use a kiss goodbye from my girlfriend before she goes."

Pepper ignored his last comment as she stood from the table. "Alright then, I'm going to head out. I'll see you after the meeting," Pepper gathered her things and headed down to the garage, leaving Tony to plan for the board meeting on his own.

After a few more sips of coffee he returned to his room to shower. He let the jets ease some of the tension in his shoulders and was just beginning to doze off when Jarvis spoke, "Sir, a Professor Xavier is calling you. Shall I put him through?"

"Professor Xavier? Why does that name sound familiar?" Tony spoke his thoughts aloud.

"My records list that he died under mysterious circumstances a few months ago," Jarvis supplied.

"Whoa, now I'm getting calls from dead people? Didn't think that was in Iron Man's job description. Tell him I'm busy and take a message."

"He said it was urgent sir," the AI responded.

"Well since Professor Xavier is supposedly _dead_, I'd say it's safe to presume this is just some whack job trying to get a hold of me. Take a message, and I'll look into it later," Tony spoke with an edge of finality in his voice like a father to his child.

"As you wish, sir," Jarvis said leaving his master to his thoughts.

* * *

_A few hours later, elsewhere in Malibu…_

Pepper loaded hers and Tony's dry cleaning into the back of her Audi and mentally crossed that chore off her to-do list. She still had to pick up the Armani tuxedo that Tony was supposed to wear to his next red carpet event. It was, of course, free of charge. She would never fully understand how one of the wealthiest men on the planet got so much free stuff. After that, she decided she should go buy herself a new outfit, just for the hell of it. Standing beside her car, Pepper perused the windows of the shops around her looking for a good place to start. Her stomach growled, interrupting these proceedings and she glanced at her watch noticing that it was indeed time for lunch.

She headed across the street to a little café that served really tasty salads. She opened the restaurant's door and just managed to squeeze into the establishment and take her place at the back of the line leading to the counter. A moment later, the door opened behind her jarring her shoulder and causing her to take a step forward. "Oh sorry about that," came a familiar voice behind her.

Pepper whirled around to find her boss with one of those classic Tony Stark smirks on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Pepper asked completely taken aback.

"Well, I was looking for a place to get some lunch and spotted you stepping in here," he answered.

"Uh huh," Pepper responded not entirely convinced. "You didn't have Jarvis track me here or anything like that did you?"

"Well maybe I did ask Jarvis where you were. Anyways, it doesn't matter how I found you, all that matters now is if you will allow me to eat lunch with you."

Pepper rolled her eyes, but stepped to the side to let Tony close the restaurant's door and stand beside her in line. They both ordered and grabbed a table outside on the small patio out back. Tony focused on his sandwich and only filled the silence with some vague small talk throughout the meal. Pepper could not figure out why her boss had followed her only to hardly speak to her. That is until she glanced down at her watch. "Oh my gosh Tony! The board meeting is in twenty minutes!" she glared at him when comprehension finally dawned on her. "Are you here just so you can skip the meeting?"

"The meeting?" Tony looked confused for a moment and looked at his own watch. "Oh the meeting! No, I'm not skipping it. I just lost track of time, but don't worry I pushed it back half an hour."

"Oh, okay," Pepper relaxed slightly, but she still felt like Tony was up to something. The feeling only increased when he scooted his chair closer to her and slung his arm across the back of hers. He slipped his sunglasses on with his other hand and turned his face to hers, cocking his head to the side as if he was studying her. "Ya know, you should wear your hair down," he said softly and his hand came up to release the clip holding her hair up.

"Tony!" Pepper shrieked trying to swat at his hand. His other hand came up and gripped her wrist holding it none too gently as his other hand ran through her hair, fanning it out across her shoulders. Pepper turned her head trying to hide the slight blush that was threatening to creep up her neck and trying to hide how uncomfortable she was feeling around him. She couldn't explain it, but her body was begging for her to shove him away and run. Before she could act on those feelings, she felt a sharp tug at her scalp and realized Tony had snagged a hair from her head. "Ow! Tony, what the hell?" She asked facing him once more, genuinely not happy with him.

He released her immediately and sat back looking a bit shameful. "Sorry, Pepper. I guess your hair got caught on my watch."

Pepper nodded at him to indicate she heard him, but she was too busy trying to redo her hair to notice him wrap the strand of hair into his handkerchief and slide it into his inner jacket pocket. "Well, I better get going if I'm going to make that meeting," he said rising from his chair. "Again, sorry about that. Oh, and just put lunch on the company credit card."

"Sure. Thanks for lunch Mr. Stark. I'll see you later," Pepper tossed him a small smile and watched him walk away.

Tony Stark exited the café, walked about a block, and turned into a vacant alley. He pulled the handkerchief out of his pocket, gripping it tightly in his fist, and suddenly Tony Stark was not Tony Stark, but a young woman, a skinny, platinum blonde in a jean skirt and black top with oversized sunglasses, to be precise. The woman exited the alley and hailed a cab, climbing in with a small smile of victory.

Duh duh duhhhh! Remember to review!


	4. Chapter 4

First, I'd like to clear up a few things, and I apologize for not putting this explanation before the first chapter. This story takes place after X-3 and Ironman. If you watch the scene after the credits of X-3, that will explain how Professor Xavier is alive and walking  (Here's a link for that .com/watch?v=s4DBZ430dMg&feature=related

And sorry its such bad quality, but there were no good ones in English on youtube)

Also at the end of that movie, but before the credits, you see Magneto move a chess piece slightly, possibly hinting that the "cure" is temporary (because seriously what would the X-men universe be like without Magneto lol), but I will explain how he and Mystique got their mutant abilities back within the story. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and your patience with me! Grad finals are over yay!!

Now where were we . . .

(Again I don't own anything… sadly)

Chapter 4

Mystique walked gracefully in all her exotic sapphire beauty to where Magneto sat. She was carrying a thick file which she dropped unceremoniously on his barren desk with a loud bang. The sound echoed off the walls in the sparsely furnished metal room. Magneto glanced up at her looking slightly annoyed before reaching for the file. As he perused it, Mystique summarized the results ending with: "It seems her DNA is compatible, and she is likely to survive the transformation."

"Define 'likely'," he interjected.

"Well, the good doctor has predicted a chance of about 75-80%," she answered. "I might add that that is about 50% higher than the suspected survival rate of the contraption you used on Senator Kelly."

Again, Magneto's eyes flickered to her with annoyance, "My dear, you seem a bit more catty than usual. Is something bothering you?"

"Oh no," she responded in a flat tone, "I've completely forgotten that you abandoned me when I was human after I sacrificed myself for _you_." Her eyes grew extremely cold as she narrowed them at him.

He sighed. "I thought we had been through this already, and I did come back for you . . . eventually."

"Ha!" she barked, "Only after you suspected the human cure was temporary!"

"Yes, and then I found you breaking into that lab with nothing more than your womanly charms, and look at what we've discovered together," he tried to sooth her with the steady cadence of his words and she visibly relaxed. Upon seeing this he turned back to the file, satisfied that the argument had passed for now.

"Well I imagine Charles will be sending some of his precious students here to try to interfere so be careful when you go to inoculate her," Magneto spoke very casually without looking up from the file.

"Xavier is alive?!" Mystique exclaimed looking very taken aback. "But how?"

"It seems he managed to locate his mind in another person's body. A person who was basically brain-dead mind you. Wouldn't expect Charles to do it any other way," a small genuine smile crossed his features.

"Has he been tracking us? Does he know what we're up to?" she inquired.

"He cannot read us in this building because of how I have constructed it, but I bet he has located you by now from all of your outings, and he probably has his suspicions about why we are here." He finally closed the file and fixed his gaze on his loyal follower. "Be careful, my dear, and you will have nothing to worry about. Soon we will be prepared for anything the humans can throw at us, as well as Charles for that matter."

He rose from his chair, set down the file, and stood before Mystique. He reached out to take one of her hands; pulling it towards him and turning it palm side up. In an instant, he moved a gun across the room and into her waiting hand. The gun had previously held the mutant cure, but now it held something far more powerful. He curled her fingers around the weapon and whispered, "Now go and get her."

* * *

Tony slammed on the brakes and brought his car to a screeching halt inside the garage. He climbed out and slammed the door shut, stomping through his lab. He pulled his tie harshly from side to side, loosening it, until he got it off. He flung it across the room with a curse, not caring where it landed. He grunted a response to Jarvis's generic greeting and flopped down on his black leather couch.

"Is everything alright sir?" Jarvis inquired.

Tony sighed, putting his face in his hands and rubbing his eyes with his palms. "Yes Jarvis. Is Ms. Potts here?"

"She has not yet returned from her errands sir. Shall I call her?"

"No, no. I'll just wait 'til she gets back." Tony was still a little pissed Pepper had left him to face the board alone. He knew he should be able to handle his company on his own, but the meeting had been plain frustrating, and he wanted to take his frustrations out on something. At the moment, he wanted to argue with his lovely assistant for abandoning him. Well to be honest, he wanted to work out his frustrations on her in other ways, but didn't think she'd be too open to them . . . yet.

The board had alternated from underhandedly implying he needed mental help to begging him to put the ironman suit into mass production for the military. Tony answered with major negatives on both accounts. The meeting hadn't really accomplished anything. Tony still felt he had to prove to those idiots that it was his company and he was in charge.

With a sigh, Tony undid the first few buttons on his shirt allowing him to breathe easier. He stood up and sauntered over to his workstation. He scanned the mess of tools and parts littered across his workspace and tried to figure out what he was in the mood to work on. _Hmmm hot rod or suit?_ He thought to himself. His hand reached for his wrench set as he made the decision to work on his long neglected hot rod. It seemed like a good way to blow off some steam.

Half an hour into his work with The Killers providing his own soundtrack, Jarvis spoke. "Sir, a car just pulled up to the front gate. The driver says she was sent by Professor Xavier and she need to speak with you."

Tony looked up sharply, "Wait the dead guy sent her? Patch me through with video." Tony moved over to his desk where his computer screen brought up the video feed from his security cameras. An attractive black woman with spiky white hair was tapping her fingers with slight impatience on the steering wheel of her car. Tony could tell someone else was in the car with her, but couldn't really make the person out. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Tony asked.

The woman turned to face the camera and narrowed her eyes. "We are teachers from the Xavier Institute. We're here to help you. Didn't you talk to Professor Xavier?"

"Hmm. Since I would probably need a Ouija board to talk to a dead guy and that's not really my thing . . . no."

The woman sighed, looked over to the passenger of her car and turned back to the camera. "He's not dead, and if you let us in, we can explain everything."

"No offense lady, but give me one good reason why I should let you into my home. Why don't you set up an appointment with my offices and I will meet you there in a week or so." _Or not_, Tony silently added.

Tony saw a hand shoot out and punch the dashboard on the passenger side, and he was pretty sure he heard a man's voice say something along the lines of _Let him deal with Magneto on his own. I'm not helping this little prick._

He clearly heard the woman respond though, saying, "Logan, we have to help. He has no idea what he's going up against."

"Fine. It's not like I need his permission to get inside." The man responded and flung open his door. The man was pretty tall and solidly built, but Tony thought he could take him if he had to, sans suit.

"Logan! Get back in the car! We can't just break into his home!" the woman shouted and she too got out of the car. Tony watched as blades shot out of the man's hands and he slashed through Tony's open gates like they were made of butter before kicking them open. _Guess I might need the suit to take him_.

Tony ran up the stairs towards his front door and slipped one of the ironman gauntlets on his hand. "Jarvis what kind of a threat am I dealing with?"

"The man has six blades and the woman is not carrying any physical weapons. But they do not appear to be quite human sir."

That made Tony pause in front of the closed front door. "What do you mean? Are they aliens or something?"

"No sir. I believe they are mutants. They just have DNA that is slightly different from yours." The AI answered.

"Mutants?! Didn't expect that. Well let's see how Ironman does against them shall we. Throw up the steel doors and windows. I'm gonna need a minute to change." He spun on his heel to head back to his workshop as Jarvis complied with his orders, but before he made it to the top of the stairs; he heard a horrible scraping noise. He whirled around and watched in horror as three blades tore through his steel door from the outside. He saw them cut the outline of a door, before said shape was kicked in. Tony raised his gauntlet to fire at whatever came through the door, but all he could see was a swirling mist which quickly filled his house and left him blind. Tony cursed himself for not suiting up entirely. Heat vision would have been really useful right about now.

Before Tony could even ask Jarvis to locate the intruders, he felt arms of steel envelope him, locking his arms to his side and lifting him slightly off the ground. His gauntlet was torn off, and he heard it clatter across the floor somewhere in the room. Tony tried to struggle and kicked his feet back, trying to hit anything. Even when he connected with his assailant, he hardly flinched, and he did not loosen his hold. "What the hell?! Get off me!!!" Tony yelled.

In an instant the mist cleared and he was face to face with the woman which must mean the overgrown brute that was holding him was her partner.

"Sorry about that Tony. Logan isn't really a patient person," she added glaring over Tony's shoulder at the man holding him, "but we really are here to help you."

Tony opened his mouth to spit out a sarcastic remark, but she held up her hand and her eyes begged him to give her a minute. Tony snapped his mouth shut, clenching his jaw and settled for glaring daggers at the woman. "If Logan lets you go will you allow us to explain?"

Tony's nodded his head tersely and felt himself being lowered to the ground. He shoved himself off his attacker and stood between the two mutants in a slightly defensive posture waiting for an explanation, and itching to retrieve his gauntlet and use it on this Logan character.

* * *

Pepper eased her car through the open gates and past a car she didn't recognize that sat parked in Tony's driveway. _Wonder if another SHIELD agent is trying to recruit Tony_, she wondered.

Pepper climbed up the stairs that led from the garage to Tony's living room, precariously balancing packages in one arm from her trip out today while trying not to drag Tony's new tuxedo on the floor with the other. Not paying attention to what was in front of her; Pepper ran right into a very hard body at the top of the stairs and almost toppled backwards. Before she even managed to drop a package a steel grip enveloped her arms and set her safely on her feet. Pepper slowly raised her eyes to find herself face to face with a stranger. An attractive, yet somewhat hairy stranger, her mind processed. He was tall with dark dangerous eyes and dark hair that was styled high on his head. He had on dark worn boots, jeans, and a weathered biker's jacket over a wife beater. Before Pepper could even manage to find her voice she heard the sound of a throat clearing behind the man who still held her in his strong grip.

Peering around the imposing figure, Pepper saw Tony looking none too happy. In fact, if looks could kill, this guy would certainly be history. The man released her and turned back towards Tony with a small smirk on his face. Pepper set the packages down and joined the group, noticing a stunningly attractive black woman with brilliant spiky white hair dressed in a black blouse, skinny jeans, and red heels that Pepper paused to admire. She glanced at Tony on her left expecting an introduction, but he was still shooting daggers at the man and clenching a shaking fist to his side. Peering at the man on her right, she noticed he had his arms crossed feigning nonchalance, but she noticed a slight tension to his stance. The testosterone in the room was stifling.

The woman with the awesome shoes stepped forward, "You must be Pepper," she said holding out her hand. "My name is Aurora, but you can call me Storm, and this is Logan," she said inclining her head towards the attractive man.

"Storm?" Pepper asked curiously, raising one perfect eyebrow.

Storm laughed softly. "Yes it's a nickname. I got it from my mutant ability to control the weather."

"Wow. Mutants?" Pepper looked between Storm and Wolverine quizzically, but before she could add anything else she noticed Logan's eyes darkening as he sniffed the air. His nose wrinkled in disgust and his eyes locked on Pepper. In a flash, he had shoved Storm away, grabbed hold of Pepper's shoulder and held three sharp blades against her throat. Pepper didn't even see him pull any weapons out it was so fast, but looking closer she noticed the blades actually came out of his hands. Pepper shivered. Logan leaned his face towards hers and sniffed her, emitting a low growl. Pepper was frozen with fear; she could hardly breathe, when suddenly she felt herself being yanked harshly away from Logan by Tony who quickly placed her behind him in a protective gesture.

"Stay the hell away from her!" Tony growled.

Storm came up behind Logan and rested a hand on his shoulder. He bent his head towards her, but did not take his eyes off of Pepper. "She smells like Mystique," he said.

* * *

Thanks again for reading!!! Please review!! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! I'm soooooooo sorry I gave up on this story! I cannot apologize enough. Grad school sucked the life out of my creativity for awhile there, and lots of things were happening in my life. For one, I'm married! And my wonderful husband has been encouraging me to get back into things I am passionate about so I started writing again. I remembered this story and where I want it to go so hopefully I can update a little more regularly than once every couple of years! Your reviews have meant a lot so thank you for the encouragement!

(Also, in my excitement, I rushed this chapter out so forgive any mistakes but feel free to review any egregious errors. I will do more serious editing in the future..for instance, I realize I switch pov all the time. I will work on that)

*Even though we now have Iron Man 2, Avengers (LOVE it!), and some new X-Men movies/spin-offs my story still takes place after X-Men 3 and Iron Man number 1.

Here we go...

* * *

Ch. 5

"Mystique?" Pepper asked, staring wide-eyed at the tense Logan.

"What? Is that the name of your perfume, Pep?" Tony quipped. "I don't know what your problem is man. I think she smells great." He couldn't help but smirk at the angry man before him. _Psychotic uptight ass_, he thought to himself.

"Mystique is a mutant," Logan gritted out between clenched teeth.

"She is a shape-shifter," Storm added. "She has the ability to look and sound like anyone she observes."

"Storm? Mystique?...Seriously? What is with these nicknames?" Tony asked glancing from Storm back to Logan. "Let me guess, you are also known as Gel Boy with the ability to make your hair into any shape you wish?"

"Wolverine, actually," Logan replied rather stoically. "And I can take you any day Tin Man." To make his point, he flicked his head toward Tony's ruined door.

"Um...that would be Iron Man, and I…" Tony began, but Pepper cut him off.

"Ok gentlemen, let's stop this little pissing contest and get to the point." She stepped out behind Tony to stand beside him. "I'm guessing you think I'm this Mystique person?"

"No," Logan answered, finally relaxing his posture. "You just smell like her. Meaning she's been near you."

"How the hell can you smell someone?" Tony scoffed.

Logan just glared at him. Realizing he wasn't going to answer anytime soon Storm answered for him, "Logan has extremely heightened senses, making him an excellent tracker."

"And that's only one of my abilities pretty boy," Logan added.

"I'm guessing destroying people's homes is the other?" asked Tony with a glare.

Ignoring their continuing childish antics, Storm turned her attention to the only other person in the room without raging testosterone. "Did you have any odd encounters with anyone today? A stranger? Maybe an old friend you haven't seen in awhile?" she asked Pepper.

Pepper silently ran through her day, coming to the conclusion that, "No. I can't think of anything out of the ordinary." Pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she continued, "I saw Happy this morning when I got in my car, but we hardly spoke."

Logan flicked his eyes to Storm, silently agreeing to check out if Happy's account matched up with Pepper's. Logan glanced at Tony with a slight smirk, holding back the urge to poke fun at this man's name. _Really? You have a problem with Storm? But someone you know is named Happy?_

Tony raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, seemingly getting the prod without Logan needing to verbalize. Logan grinned and returned his focus to Pepper as she went through the different stores she went to, trying to describe sales clerks and the like. "Then I grabbed lunch with Tony, and I..."

"Wait." Tony held up his hand, pivoting on his feet to look at Pepper. "You didn't have lunch with me, Pep. I was in a board meeting today, remember?"

"No….," Pepper slowly shook her head, trying to make sense of the lunch. "You told me you pushed the meeting back a half-hour and we had salads at that little café….," she trailed off noticing Tony's expression of concern. Shaking her head with more force, she pointed at him, "No way! It had to be you! It was you! You're just messing with me." Pepper turned her head to the side slightly and narrowed her eyes at him.

Tony gently took her hand and very softly said, "I swear, Pep, it wasn't me." Pepper's eyes widened and she sucked in a deep breath.

"Alright, tell us exactly what happened at this lunch. Every detail," Logan demanded.

Pepper wobbled slightly on her stilettos, causing Storm and Tony to reach out simultaneously to steady her. "Maybe there is somewhere we can go to sit and discuss this?" Storm asked Tony, while directing a sharp gaze at Logan telling him to calm down.

Tony glanced at the stairs to his lab, but decided he wasn't about to let these people around his suit so he guided Pepper to the dining room table and into a chair. Pepper sat heavily, staring off into space as she tried to determine whether or not this was a dream, or if the lunch was a dream, or…something.

Tony headed into the kitchen to get Pepper a drink, and Storm followed. He filled a kettle with water and set it on the gas range. He flicked the knob on high and stared dumbly at the flame heating the water. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to comprehend a world with shape-shifters and angry, hairy men that sliced through steel doors like butter. _What could he do to my suit? Guess I couldn't get too close to him..._

His thoughts were cut off by a gentle hand placed on his arm. "Why don't you let me make the tea, and you can go back out to help her talk to Logan," Storm offered.

Tony glanced quickly back at the kitchen table where Logan had taken a position standing at the head of the table facing Pepper. His legs were set shoulder length apart and his hands were resting tightly on the chair in front of him. He looked like he was ready for a serious interrogation, which instantly annoyed Tony. "That'd be great," Tony answered Storm, as he walked briskly out of the kitchen. Pausing in the doorway he added, "The tea she likes is in the silver canister in the cupboard above the coffee maker."

Tony walked up behind Pepper, taking up his position opposite Logan and placing his hands on Pepper's shoulders. Pepper jumped slightly, looking up at Tony as if assessing if it really was him, only relaxing when she felt him reassuringly squeeze her shoulders and whisper, "It's really me, Pep."

Pepper didn't know why that simple response soothed her. Obviously a shape-shifter would say the same thing, but this just _felt_ like Tony. Even more in his favor was the fact that Logan jumped her instead of him since he obviously knew what this Mystique woman smelled like. She now realized that the uneasiness she felt at lunch was her body's instincts warning her that while the man…or woman…she was having lunch with looked and sounded like Tony, he didn't feel like him to her.

"Ok, so let's take it from the beginning," Logan encouraged. "When did you first see who you thought was Tony?"

"Ok," Pepper nodded trying to focus. "I was waiting in line to place an order when Tony came in behind me…" Pepper relayed the story of how Tony bumped into her, sat with her at a table outside, and had a pretty boring conversation with her, aside from the talk of his board meeting.

"Was there any touching or odd statements? Maybe threats passed off as jokes?" Logan asked.

Storm came in with a cup of tea and gently set it in front of Pepper. Then she held out a glass with two fingers of an amber liquid with whiskey stones to Tony. Tony looked somewhat surprised, but took the whiskey with a nod of thanks to Storm.

"Um..," Pepper scrunched her nose slightly trying to remember. "No threats, but…wait! He took out my hair clip and let my hair down."

Tony shivered slightly, causing Pepper to look up at him. "Sorry, I just get pissed off and slightly creeped out picturing this guy...girl...thing touching you."

"_She_ is certainly not a _thing_," Storm admonished.

"Storm's a bit touchy about the whole mutant-animal, mutant-thing thing," Logan stated.

"Uh…sorry," said Tony a little sheepishly. "But cut me a little slack, this is all kind of new to me."

"Yeah, kinda wishing you kept the whole Iron Man thing a little quieter now, huh? Does realizing you're not even close to being alone in this game make you nervous?" Logan chided.

Tony really didn't have a comeback since part of him was strongly agreeing with this Wolverine, so he let it drop asking Pepper, "Is that it?" And turning to Storm, "Does something happen when she touches people? Should we be worried?"

"Don't worry she is not a mutant who possesses the power to harm through her touch alone."

"Oh, but those exist?" Tony asked.

"Oh yeah. I'll have to introduce you to my friend Rogue sometime," Logan smirked.

"So maybe I'll write down my story and you all can read it at your earliest convenience, since I am continually interrupted with this manly crap," Pepper interjected.

"Sorry," both men mumbled.

"Ok. So she undid my hairclip and then hurried off to the meeting. Telling me to put lunch on the company tab. And that was it. The end." Pepper made a swiping motion as if she was clearing the table to emphasize the finality of the story. Her shoulders drooped a little, and she sighed, taking a sip of her tea.

Everyone else looked around trying to garner some kind of significance or hint at what Mystique was up to. Tony pulled a chair to the left of Pepper, sliding his right hand across her shoulders and hair as he sat.

This motion seemed to jog something in Pepper's memory and she sat up a little straighter adding, "Oh yeah. A strand of my hair got yanked out after it was caught in hi...her watch. But that was the most exciting moment. Sorry." Pepper went back to her tea as Logan and Storm exchanged another glance.

"Did she keep your hair?" Storm asked slowly.

Pepper and Tony glanced up at her confused. "Um... I don't...I don't know," Pepper shrugged.

"Why?" both asked in unison.

"I'm not sure," answered Storm. "I'll call the Professor and fill him in. Maybe he will have some ideas." Storm pulled out a phone and walked back toward the entranceway to make her call.

Tony called after her, "Make sure to tell him he owes me a new front door...and gate!"

Logan couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Please review! :) Any cameo appearances you would like to see in this story? Let me know! I'm still thinking I can fit Gambit in briefly, but am open to other suggestions. Thanks!


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